Justice News

Jury Convicts North Las Vegas Felon For Illegal Possession Of A Firearm

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – A North Las Vegas man was found guilty by a jury on Tuesday for a federal firearms violation, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Steven W. Myhre for the District of Nevada.

Tajh Dion Weatherspoon, 27, was found guilty of one count of felon in possession of a firearm and shortly thereafter pleaded guilty to a second count of felon in possession of a firearm. Weatherspoon had two prior felony convictions, including attempted burglary and felon in possession of a firearm.

According to the superseding indictment, Weatherspoon was in possession of a Glock 19 handgun on June 15, 2016, and a Glock 21 handgun on Dec. 22, 2016. The Court severed the two counts and ordered that the trials proceed one after the other, beginning May 15, 2017. After the jury convicted Weatherspoon of possessing the Glock 19 handgun, he declined to proceed to trial on the count charging possession of the Glock 21 handgun and instead pleaded guilty without the benefit of a plea agreement.

United States District Judge Howard D. McKibben presided over the jury trial and scheduled sentencing for Sept. 19, 2017. At the time of sentencing, Weatherspoon faces a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

The case was investigated by the FBI, ATF, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, and the North Las Vegas Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tony Lopez and Patrick Burns.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a nationwide commitment by the Department of Justice to reduce gun and gang crime in America by networking local programs that target gun and gun crime and providing these programs with additional tools necessary to be successful. For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, visit www.justice.gov/usao-nv.